There are a lot of reasons why Born a Crime is one of the best books I've read this year. Trevor Noah is a proven storyteller, so there's that. His life story is worth telling — the circumstances of his birth, the illegality and audacity of his very existence, so there's that. And then he provides a somehow totally new critique of race, because it's South Africa, not America. It's the same, but also totally different. This book was so... (read more)Recommended by Britt A.

I'm not a very curious person. So when reading, my favorite minds to inhabit are inquisitive ones. They do the work of both asking the question and answering it, while I sit back and enjoy. Helen Czerski is perfect for me. She is curious, bright, and patient as she explains the physics behind everyday occurrences. I wasn’t looking for this information, but I loved learning it.Recommended by Britt A.

As a potter and an independent bookstore employee, reading Revenge of the Analog was fortifying. Of course people still care about actual objects. Of course it is not all digital nonsense. But still, it’s nice to be told so by someone who put thought into the matter. David Sax talks vinyl, paper, film, board games, print, retail, work (as in: making actual things), and school (as in: actually going to a place to learn) — why they’re... (read more)Recommended by Britt A.

This book made me weepy. Pete Souza captures the grace, confidence, humor, and intelligence of Obama’s presidency in 300 perfect photographs. It’s an incredible summary of eight important years.Recommended by Britt A.

Nicole Krauss is fascinated by writing. Her latest novel, Forest Dark, is about a writer named Nicole, who, struggling with her novel, travels to a significant hotel in Tel Aviv. It is also about a rich Jewish man named Jules who begins giving away his possessions. It's a patiently-told story, luring you from page to page with crumbs of intrigue until you can't imagine putting the book down.Recommended by Britt A.

David Sedaris used to dig up his pets’ graves, and is something of a taxidermy aficionado, but in When You Are Engulfed in Flames he discovers his own death. First, a human skeleton he buys as a gift for his partner Hugh begins speaking to him, then he works to quit smoking. The result is a memoir just as funny and idiosyncratic, but more self-aware, more serious, and more emotional than his other work.Recommended by Britt A.

Tobias Wolff is a writer’s writer known for tight sentences and inventive plots. This Boy’s Life tells the story of Wolff’s youth spent dodging abusive men with his mother, Rosemary. They leave Florida for Utah, and Utah for Washington. In each place Wolff builds on his persona. In Utah he becomes “Jack.” In Washington, he fakes achievement to secure a spot in an elite East Coast prep school. Jack Wolff is a lovable troublemaker in a bad... (read more)Recommended by Britt A.

After Trayvon Martin was murdered, Jesmyn Ward went looking for community. She went to Twitter, where she knew people would be outraged. It didn’t last, though; other topics took over. She wanted more. She wanted something she could hold. The Fire This Time is that book. It is a must-read.Recommended by Britt A.

Yay! is how I felt when I found out Amy Schumer had a book deal. She's had my heart since her "Very Realistic Military Game" sketch. This book is exactly as hilarious, sharp, unapologetic, and awesome as you think it will be.Recommended by Britt A.

Jessi Klein is the head writer and executive producer of Inside Amy Schumer. If you like funny essays about drinking, perfume application/womanhood, dating, and trying to have a better butt, you will love this book!Recommended by Britt A.

Elizabeth Strout was not finished with Lucy Barton, which is great because neither was I. Anything Is Possible is structured similarly to Olive Kitteridge, with stories about residents of a small town, where one resident (or, in this case, former resident) makes an appearance in each story. It is excellent, as all Elizabeth Strout books are.Recommended by Britt A.

Another Brooklyn is a beautiful, brief, pressing book. August moves from rural Tennessee to Brooklyn with her dad and younger brother. She waits every day for her mom to join them. Initially they watch the scene from their bedroom window, forbidden from going outside. Eventually they are freed, and August links up with three magnetic girls she had seen walk arm-in-arm below her window. Growing up is messy anywhere, but especially here... (read more)Recommended by Britt A.

Imagine Wanting Only This is a quiet, searching story, both emotional and intellectual. The illustrations are beautiful, and I lingered over them. I will reread it, because though I have finished it, I am not done. Recommended by Britt A.

Sunshine State is a meticulous collection of personal essays as much
about Florida as about Sarah Gerard. The precision and empathy of her
storytelling is addicting. I hope she writes so much more!Recommended by Britt A.

Citizen is a personal, emotional, poetic account of being black in America. Some of it is told in snippets, as the experiences themselves are snippets — a comment at Starbucks, a shove on the subway. There are longer pieces, too, like her essay about Serena Williams, which blew my mind. The specificity and introspection of this book made for one of the most powerful reading experiences I've had.Recommended by Britt A.

This is the book for fans of The Daily Show. It's the compilation of behind-the-scenes tales from everyone who made this show awesome, including guests. It should give you much-needed election-year catharsis, as well as tide you over until the beginning of Jon Stewart's new show.Recommended by Britt A.

In his own words, "My hope is not to make you an expert recipe follower (as so many baking books do), but to help you become a confident, intuitive baker, capable of discerning which rules you should follow and which of the many you can and should break." How to Bake Everything is exactly that — a book that teaches you rather than tells you. And it teaches you everything.Recommended by Britt A.

I sat in a restaurant by my office last night finishing Commonwealth. There was no way I could stop reading long enough to make it home. And when I did finish, I wished I could hug Ann Patchett, and give her many awards. This is both the best book of the year, and the best book she's written. Light, heavy, pacing, patient... it's everything.Recommended by Britt A.

History is so much more fun when the historian is having fun, and in SPQR, Mary Beard seems to be having the time of her life. The result is a thorough and entertaining study of the unprecedented rise of ancient Rome, including everything you vaguely remember, everything you totally forgot, and everything you never knew. It's awesome.Recommended by Britt A.

Lib, a highly trained English nurse, is sent to a small town in Ireland where there is an 11-year-old girl claiming to no longer need food. The boggy town, almost too Catholic to function, is desperate for this little girl to be special. Lib wants to swiftly prove otherwise. Days pass and Lib can’t figure it out. Then it’s all too clear. I stayed up late to finish this patient, mysterious book. It is ridiculously engrossing.Recommended by Britt A.

Empire Falls might be the most interesting fictional town ever. The story is patiently paced, with a huge payoff because by the end of the book, you know these characters almost as well as you know your own family.Recommended by Britt A.

Hot Milk is about Sofia, a listless young woman who accompanies her needy/ailing mother to a clinic in southern Spain. Sofia, whose training is in anthropology but whose career, so far, has been in a coffee shop, loafs around thinking thoughts and being stung by jellyfish. Sofia is wise in a languid way, and incredibly compelling. This is NOT a whiny, millennial struggling-to-find-a-place-in-the-world novel. Hot Milk is expertly... (read more)Recommended by Britt A.

If you, like me, love diary-esque, brief, direct, personal, reflective books like The Folded Clock or Dept. of Speculation, Ongoingness, or The Argonauts, you should read Little Labors. You will love it.Recommended by Britt A.

The Wonder Trail is a travel book by a comedy writer, i.e., the opposite of insufferable. Steve Hely is optimistic, enthusiastic, and not drug-averse as he wanders from Mexico down to the tip of Patagonia. He peppers his stories with history, and cites his sources for the curious. I learned; I laughed; I tore through it.Recommended by Britt A.

"This is a book I had to write," Adichie said. Half of a Yellow Sun is an evocative novel, a consuming experience. It tells the story of Biafra, the secessionist state in eastern Nigeria that existed from 1967 to 1970. Adichie writes it big and all the way through. The story begins before the war, continues during, and ends after. You see it through five different characters, each full and struggling. It is a war story, but it is also a... (read more)Recommended by Britt A.

Fourth of July Creek is a suspenseful and awesome story about a social worker in rural Montana who comes across a religious survivalist nut job living in the woods with his undernourished child. Pete Snow, the social worker, despite warnings, tries repeatedly to engage Jeremiah, the nut job. Pete is a caring social worker, but a damaged dude in his own right. You will cancel plans to keep reading this book. It's great!Recommended by Britt A.

There are plenty of drawings in this memoir by cartoonist Bruce Eric Kaplan, but it's the writing that gets me. He tells it informally, in chunks, lingering on details, not worrying about fleshing them out. I really loved it.Recommended by Britt A.

I’m a big fan of tiny houses. I hope to live in one someday. Until then, I will keep the dream alive by looking at Zeiger’s fantastic book, which is full of cleverly small dwellings and the stories behind them.Recommended by Britt A.

Goodness, this is a great book. An epic tale told with the precision of a short story, A Doubter's Almanac traces the life of Milo Andret, a brilliant mathematician and a difficult man. I loved being in Milo's world and was sad when the book ended. Plus, it was cool seeing what it's like to be good at math.Recommended by Britt A.

My Name Is Lucy Barton is perfectly described by Joy Williams’s first rule of writing: "There should be a clean clear surface with much disturbance below." I loved this book immediately. I loved every word of it, and I read it twice in a row.Recommended by Britt A.

If everyone read this book, there would be no more rubbernecking. It’s everything you ever wanted to know when you saw an ambulance zoom past — disturbing and fascinating, but also thoughtful. One of my favorite lines: "The human body — hers, mine, everyone’s — is basically sausage."Recommended by Britt A.

This book is such a cool idea, I can’t believe it hasn’t been done before. Rather than born gifted, Weiner believes that geniuses are grown, and he examines the places and time periods that produced some of the world’s greatest minds. A fascinating read.Recommended by Britt A.

You know when you’re in a story so compelling that you look at the people around you and think: You guys don’t even know what I’m going through?How to Be Both is incredible. At a sentence level, it’s expertly written, and on a story level, it is fascinating. Read it!Recommended by Britt A.

Drinking in America takes the history we all learned in school and adds alcohol to the picture. Apparently people were a lot drunker than we’ve been told. This book is fascinating, well written, and full of shareable anecdotes.Recommended by Britt A.

The Last Kids on Earth is a blast. Jack Sullivan is a confident and self-deprecating kid who’s just trying to survive the zombie apocalypse, tame a monster for a pet, track down June (the cute girl from school), and make his own Mountain Dew with his best friend, Quint.

You do not need to like Sleater-Kinney, Riot Grrrl, punk music, or Portlandia to love this book. It is accessible, entertaining, and very well told. Carrie Brownstein has a fascinating life.Recommended by Britt A.

What’s surprised me about this book is how moving it is. It’s sweet to look at beautiful photos of woodsy cabins; it’s calming and the pictures are lovely. But the stories about the work behind the cabins — that’s the magic.Recommended by Britt A.

Jenny Lawson writes mainly about therapy, mental illness, and taxidermy, and I was laughing about every two sentences. About every six sentences, I had to put the book down and regain composure. In fact, reading this book made me annoying to be around, as though I were involved in a 273-page inside joke.Recommended by Britt A.